Staff
Center for Cooperative Media
CCM is housed within Conrad J. Schmitt Hall.
Matthew Frankel l Debra Galant
Associate Director, Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives
School of Communication and Media
- Office Location: Conrad J. Schmitt Hall 314
- E-Mail:frankelm@mail.montclair.edu
- Phone:973-655-7441
Matthew Frankel directs the day-to-day mission and operation of the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University.
As Associate Director, Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives of Montclair State University's recently launched School of Communication and Media, Mr. Frankel has led in the creation of strategic initiatives, such as the collaborative news ecosystem NJ News Commons, and has been instrumental in creating and negotiating a variety of media-related partnerships for the School. Over the course of the past year he has been the strategic architect in creating a series of professional on-campus news bureaus, which has helped bring media organizations, such as NJTV and WNYC, to New Jersey and provided University students with valuable hands on professional opportunities. In his role, Frankel also directs efforts that have brought significant funding from organizations such as the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and oversees a variety of external relation functions. Prior to joining Montclair State University, Mr. Frankel began his professional career as a Press Secretary on Capitol Hill, serving Democratic offices such as House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt, Senator Debbie Stabenow, and the Democratic Leadership Council. In 2001, he moved to New York City, where he led the corporate communication departments for various entertainment brands including AMC Networks, The Weinstein Company, AOL and Current TV.
Mr. Frankel has been a resident of Montclair since 2004, where he lives with his family and serves on the Board of the Montclair Film Festival, the Adult School of Montclair and volunteers as a career coach at the Family Success Center at the United Way of Northern New Jersey.
Associate Director, New Media Initiatives
School of Communication and Media
- Office Location: Conrad J. Schmitt Hall 320
- E-Mail:galantd@mail.montclair.edu
- Phone: 973-655-5541
The NJ News Commons is the first initiative of the Center for Collaborative Media at Montclair State University and is designed to serve and be a resource to each of the news and information web sites across New Jersey and appropriately find areas of collaboration within these entities.
Both from her office in the Center for Cooperative Media and in travels throughout the state, Debra Galant works with news gatherers to find new audiences, share resources, and embrace better business practices. Galant comes to this mission from her role as co-publisher of Baristanet, one of the first hyperlocal online news sites in the United States, which she founded in 2004. Before starting Baristanet, Galant wrote the New Jersey column for The New York Times, and freelanced for numerous publications, including NJ Monthly and Institutional Investor. Galant is also the author of three novels published by St. Martin's Press.
She and her husband Warren Levinson, a veteran radio correspondent for the Associated Press, have lived in Glen Ridge, NJ for 23 years.
Read more about the NJ News Commons here.